20261018_kingdom_reality_raph

Series: Kingdom Culture

Message: The reality of the Kingdom

(Romans 14:17) “For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.”

This is the middle of an argument. People were fussing over what was on their plates, what days were holy, and who was keeping the religious rules better. And with one sweeping, grace-drenched sentence, Paul pulls the rug out from under every single system of human performance.

The kingdom of God is not about external rituals, dietary restrictions, or religious checklists. Instead, it is about righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.

We lean toward rules because rules give us a scorecard. If we can check off what we ate, what we wore, or where we showed up, we feel like we have a handle on things.

But that is an illusion.

You don't manufacture righteousness through your own grit; Christ purchased it and credited it to your account.

Peace with God is not a feeling you conjure up by managing your stress; it is a permanent, settled reality secured by the blood of the cross.

Joy is not a fragile emotion dependent on your current circumstances; it is the supernatural fruit of the Holy Spirit.

The Gift of Imputed Righteousness

Righteousness δικαιοσύνη dikaiosynē.

That is the state of being declared right, just, and acquitted before a holy judge.

"For if, because of one man's trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ." (Romans 5:17)

Our unshakeable position before God is not based on your performance, but entirely anchored in the finished work of Jesus Christ.

Yesterday I was helping my son with his college and scholarship applications. I came across a story from 2019. In May of that year, nearly 400 students sat for graduation at Morehouse College in Atlanta, made up mainly of African American students.

Like most graduating classes, the students had vastly different academic records.

Some had perfect 4.0 GPAs; others had barely passed. Some were campus leaders; others were quiet attendees. And most of them were carrying heavy student loan debt.

During the commencement address, billionaire investor Robert F. Smith paused and made a surprise announcement: he was setting up a grant to eliminate the entire graduating class's student loan debt.

In an instant, $34 million of debt was wiped out.

The students' new financial standing had absolutely nothing to do with their performance over the last four years. Their "clear" status was instantly secured by Smith’s wealth and his legal signature.

Smith cleared their past financial debt, but he did not guarantee their future financial success. Christ’s finished work secures both past forgiveness and eternal standing.

The word Righteousness δικαιοσύνη dikaiosynē. In classical Greek, it denoted one's duties to gods and humanity. In biblical literature, it means covenant faithfulness, right relationship and divine vindication. You are clear of blame or suspicion.

But, in Romans 14:17, it defines the true nature of the "kingdom of God," contrasting with the superficial markers of "eating and drinking."

Here, righteousness shifts from a legal status (justification by faith) to a practice and relational manisfestation.

Romans 14:15 For if your brother is grieved by what you eat, you are no longer walking in love. By what you eat, do not destroy the one for whom Christ died.

"For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them." (Ephesians 2:10)

Rhesus disease (HDN) is a condition where a pregnant woman's blood cells attack her unborn baby's blood cells. For decades, it was a deadly or permanently damaging condition for infants, and there was absolutely nothing the baby could do to fight it.

In the 1960s, doctors discovered that an Australian man named James Harrison possessed a rare antibody in his blood that could completely stop the disease. Harrison agreed to donate his plasma. Over the next 60 years, he made 1,173 donations. The medication made from his blood, known as Anti-D, was given to mothers worldwide. Because of his blood, an estimated 2.4 million babies were born perfectly healthy, cleared of a disease that would have destroyed them.

Harrison didn't have to die to give his blood; he just sat in a chair for an hour every week. The babies who survived did not survive because they were stronger. Someone donated life.

If I am spiritually alive, it is because someone prayed for me. If I am following Jesus, it is because someone discipled me. If you are here today, someone invited you. If I preach today, someone patiently listened me and corrected me.

Paul says,

2 Corinthians 4:11-12 For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. 12 So death is at work in us, but life in you.

Our divine status imputed to us should produce a transformative relationship that results in uprighteousness.

We had our vertical righteousness resolved; now let the horizontal righteousness manifest. There are so many opportunities, but all start with prayer.

We were blessed to use all this new equipment, but we need workers.

We have new families and new members in the church every week. But we need more spiritual fathers and mothers.

We will soon open Vine Compassion Mission. We need more missionaries.

God called us “strong”. Only the Mature understand that real satisfaction is not found in pleasing yourself, but in being a blessing.

True kingdom righteousness prioritizes the community over the assertion of the individual.

When we talk about righteousness in the kingdom of God, we are talking about a status that cannot be shaken.

This week, I was with Pastor Azemar in my lifegroup, and I came with a sense of privilege and responsibility that many of us in our church take for granted. A lot of you are bilingual.

The road to sacrifice in William Tyndale's life led to the first-ever translation into English of the Greek New Testament. It cost him his life. About five hundred years ago, he finished the New Testament for ordinary people. Unless you could read Latin, the word of God was obscure. Someone translated the truth of grace. You can also speak of the love of God to someone who would never understand unless you speak their heart language.

Peace That Surpasses Our Understanding

For each of these words, we must keep the definition from Romans. When Paul affirms, the Kingdom is peace in the Holy Spirit he refers to a peace that comes from our relationship with God.

(Romans 5:1) “Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

The fruit of our sense of righteousness is peace.

Look at how Paul anchors peace. He says, "Since we have been justified"—past tense, finished action—"we have peace with God."

Philippians 4:5-7 5 Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; 6 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

And a Ukrainian 71-year-old woman, Antonina, had been hiding in a basement for four months in a heavily shelled village near the active front line of the war in Ukraine. When she finally attempted to flee, she ran out of strength to continue walking. Ukrainian drones spotted her struggling in the combat "grey zone". They deployed a robotic machine typically used to carry wounded soldiers, like a mini tractor, to reach her. Using a spray-painted car mat that read "Grandma, get in," the military safely guided her through a dangerous four-hour evacuation.

Expecting to find her trembling with anxiety, when they asked how she could be so calm while the world around her was literally crumbling, she smiled and said, "Well, I realized last night that God and I are both awake, so there’s no use in both of us staying up to worry."

That is the kind of settled, resilient peace the Holy Spirit produces. It is peace with God, which guarantees the peace of God in the middle of life's fiercest storms.

Original Language Term: εἰρήνη (eirēnē)

In classical Greek, eirēnē primarily denoted the opposite of war (polemos), a cessation of hostilities, a temporary truce, or a state of order.

The Hebrew term שָׁלוֹם (shalom) is richer; it denotes wholeness, well-being, comprehensive prosperity, relational harmony, and eschatological salvation. The word goes beyond "lack of war" to indicate flourishing and unimpaired relationships.

However, in Romans 14:17, eirēnē functions within an exhortational discourse Paul addresses to the fractured community in Rome.

The church was divided. Over dietary restrictions and the observance of certain days.

In the text, eirēnē refers to our relationships. It starts with God and also applies to our brothers.

That makes me remember Colossians 3:15

15 And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful.

It is possible to be in harmony. We can accept the differences. In a political year, everything seems partisan, but it is not.

We must intentionally avoid factions and parties.

Romans 14:19 19 So then let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding.

Ephesians 4:1-3 1 I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, 3 eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

 It is the practical outworking of the "God of peace" dwelling among His people.

Paul argues that the true boundary marker of the kingdom is a Spirit-empowered community that maintains relational cohesion despite secondary diversity.

Hebrews 13:20-21 20 Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, 21 equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.

 Peace is a higher kingdom value than individual theological correctness or external things.

In late 2022, geopolitical relations between the United States and Russia were at their lowest point in decades due to the war in Ukraine. The nations were aggressively opposing each other economically and politically.

Yet on October 5, 2022, a SpaceX capsule launched from Florida, carrying American NASA astronauts who spent five months alongside Russian astronauts on the International Space Station (ISS).

This was highly publicized because it was the first time a Russian flew on an American commercial spacecraft, at a time when diplomacy between the two nations was fractured.

In the vacuum of space, survival requires absolute trust and cooperation. They shared meals, made repairs, and kept the station running. Their shared challenges in the sky demanded that peace override the intense geopolitical conflicts happening on the planet below.

"Down here" (where people fight is different from "up there.”

Unshakable Joy in the Holy Spirit

Joy in the kingdom isn't superficial happiness that puts on a brave face when things are falling apart.

It is a deep, resilient wellspring supplied by the Holy Spirit.

We are talking of joy that turned pain and torture and groaning into songs and hymns of triumphant victory. Think about the early church believers.

Acts 5:40-42 40 and when they had called in the apostles, they beat them and charged them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. 41 Then they left the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name.

42 And every day, in the temple and from house to house, they did not cease teaching and preaching that the Christ is Jesus.

Acts 16:23-26 23 And when they had inflicted many blows upon them, they threw them into prison, ordering the jailer to keep them safely. 24 Having received this order, he put them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks. 25 About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them, 26 and suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken. And immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone’s bonds were unfastened.

A heavenly reality that no earthly power could touch.

When we give of our resources to support the work of the kingdom, we do not do so to bribe God or to earn a higher tier of spiritual favor. We give because we have already been radically provided for by His grace.

Original Language Term: χαρά (chara)

A state of gladness, rejoicing, delight, or supreme happiness. Etymologically, it is closely related to charis (grace) and chairō (to rejoice).

Joy is the culminating element in Paul's triad defining the true reality of the "kingdom of God," following righteousness and peace.

It is all "in the Holy Spirit" (en pneumati hagiō).

Within this specific context, “ joy” in the Holy Spirit stands in direct contrast to the "distress" or "grief" in verse 15:

Romans 14:15 15 For if your brother is grieved by what you eat, you are no longer walking in love. By what you eat, do not destroy the one for whom Christ died.

Therefore, the real "kingdom-like joy" is not private ecstasy. It is a church-joy. It is communal gladness. It is group laughter. It is a selfie that always includes a hugging lifegroup.

In the Old Testament, the word joy is related to a pilgrimage to a national festival celebrating God’s victory for His people.

Do you remember your family road trip when you were a child? Do you remember the joy and excitement before and during that time with your parents, siblings and cousins? Every day is a new adventure and discovery. The joy of the Lord for us is that tomorrow is preparing a road trip you have never been on before.

Joy is the climax of righteousness and peace, because the kingdom of God is not an ascetic, burdensome reality characterized by endless dietary regulations and rigid boundary markers.

The kingdom is a vibrant, Spirit-empowered, joyful community.

This leads me to insist that those who see their service to God as a painful and heavy burden should stop whatever this is and consider what the kingdom of God is.

Norway is a nation of only 5.4 million people, yet they completely dominate the Winter Olympics. They won more medals than any other country in the world in winter sports.

Outsiders often assume their secret is a brutal, rigid, ascetic training regimen for their youth—endless regulations, heavy burdens, and intense pressure from a young age, as you think of North Korea, China or Japan.

The reality is the exact opposite. The Norwegian sports federation has a strict national policy. Coaches are not allowed to weigh the kids or put them on rigid athletic diets. It is about participation and fun. If a youth coach acts like a drill sergeant and makes the sport a heavy, painful burden, the federation will intervene and stop them.

The philosophy is simple: if the kids aren't experiencing joy, no one wins. Their eventual world-class performance is a byproduct of a vibrant, joyful sports community.

A rigid, burdensome, rule-heavy approach actually destroys the joy and success. In sports, the real joy is a competitive gold medal; in the Kingdom of God, the goal is joy and peace.

Remember, when God created man and woman, he did not place them in an assembly-line factory or a plantation field. He gave us a garden to cultivate.

As much work a garden can require, the final result is not profit or gain, but simply delight and joy.